The use and reliance upon electrical devices continue to increase as existing electrical devices are improved and new electrical devices are introduced. For example, computing devices, communications equipment and other devices which utilize electrical energy for proper operation have experienced remarkable improvements in recent decades. Enhanced processing capabilities, bandwidth and other improvements have led to usage of the electrical devices in more diverse applications by more users.
There have also been remarkable improvements with respect to devices utilized to supply electrical energy to the electrical devices. For example, the development and introduction of new compositions have led to batteries of increased capacity, safety and longevity. Rechargeable batteries have also experienced improvements with respect to the number of charge and discharge cycles which may be implemented as well as storage capacities of the batteries themselves. Accordingly, batteries are used in an increasing number of applications to provide operational energy for associated electrical devices.
Some electrical device configurations which utilize batteries may be in remote or relatively inaccessible installations. For example, cell towers for wireless telecommunications may be installed at large distances from service centers, on tops of mountains, or at other locations of relative inconvenience. In some of these applications, it may be desired to provide continuous operability or to minimize downtimes. However, some conventional configurations have a technician service the batteries but service calls at remote or relatively inaccessible installations may be time consuming and/or costly. Accordingly, at least some aspects of the disclosure provide improved apparatus and methods for supplying electrical energy.